Source: landwirt.com
Use your grassland crops instead of letting them go into winter! Then the regrowth will also produce good yields and quality.
This year's grassland season produced above-average yields. Growth was enormous, but forage conservation and grazing were challenging due to the wet weather. The dry summer of 2013 was followed by a particularly wet 2014. The turf, especially the reseeded stands, recovered from the previous year's drought, but some were damaged again by tracks, driving, or trampling. What else can be done for grassland in late autumn?
The best ways to utilize autumn forage in meadows and pastures are as follows: post-grazing, late autumn silage, and mulching. Crops over 10 cm tall have problems overwintering (snow mold) and rot the first growth in spring.
Graze if possible!
Based on experience from recent years, late autumn, well into November/December, was relatively warm and still growing. This year, feed supplies are also sufficient, allowing for housing somewhat earlier than before.
From a grassland management perspective, it would be important to continue to consistently implement post-grazing on all areas as before. Every kilogram of forage that is used cheaply and of good quality directly from the grassland this year conserves stored stocks for the coming year. The forage strategy should certainly incorporate the stockpiling principle, allowing for a possible buffer for potentially less productive years. Crops should be grazed to a height of 4 to 7 cm before the end of growth.
Where traffic permits, post-grazing offers many advantages:
- from a plant cultivation perspective: weed control
- From an animal health perspective: exercise and sun
- economically thought out: cheap feed and nutrient cycle
- from the consumer’s perspective: lively cultural landscape.
If meadows are still growing vigorously and no subsequent grazing is possible, a cut at a height of 15 to 25 cm is still recommended – even if it doesn't seem necessary given the available reserves – and then preserve it as baled silage. Late autumn silage sufficiently preserves the "late autumn overgrowth" to produce medium-sized forage lots that can be easily utilized by young cattle and mother cows.
Although this forage doesn't ensil as well (less sugar, usually slightly more earthy contamination), it should be fed to young cattle or mother cows starting after three weeks of storage. The cutting height should be set to 7 cm.
Mulching
If the biomass resources cannot be grazed (post-grazing) or ensiled (autumn silage) in the fall, mulching the remaining biomass should not be neglected. Grassland stands, especially field forage stands, should not exceed a height of 5 to 7 cm, with a maximum of 10 cm, before winter. If they enter winter at a height higher than this, severe fungal and bacterial infestation will result in the majority of the grassland plants dying, "polluting and spoiling" the emerging first growth of the new grassland year.
With small amounts of forage, the shredded biomass is completely incorporated into the turf during mulching. If the crops are higher, a mulch mat is created that cannot be broken down by soil life until spring. Leftover forage or mulch mats encourage mice infestation—this would also be an important reason to "clear" the forage from the field.
Autumn fertilization on grassland
From a plant cultivation point of view, the farm's own fertilizers (manure, liquid manure, slurry, compost) should be applied in mountainous areas between October 20 and 30, and in favorable areas, fertilization should be completed by mid-November at the latest.
The legal deadline for autumn fertilization of grassland is November 30th, after which no further fertilizer should be applied. The amounts for slurry, liquid manure, and compost should be 10 to 15 t/ha; for fresh or rotted manure, the amount can be as high as 20 t/ha. Fertilization must be coordinated with grazing. This year's wet autumn should not involve fertilizing excessively wet meadows and pastures..
Commentary by Univ. Doz. Dr. Karl BUCHGRABER
The contrasting and extreme weather conditions in recent years have placed additional demands on grassland farmers. It's not easy for grassland farmers, especially mountain farmers, to manage their land properly and in an environmentally friendly manner. Farmers and their livestock are now accustomed to high levels of forage quality, so even the smallest deviations often have unpleasant consequences. However, I would like to offer a sincere compliment: This difficult year was once again used to its full potential to produce sufficient and nutritious forage from the grassland, which is a remarkable achievement in this rainy year and on the steep mountain slopes. The more difficult the conditions, the more important knowledge and the flexible use of all available farming options become. Keep at it!
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